Counter-ISIL Strikes Hit Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq on Wednesday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported on Thursday.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Near Mosul, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles.

Near Qayyarah, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL vehicle bomb-making facility and destroyed four ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL mortar systems, five ISIL vehicles, two ISIL tunnel systems, two ISIL bunkers and an ISIL command-and-control node.

Near Ramadi, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL staging area, an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL rocket propelled grenade system and an ISIL light machine gun.

Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed eight ISIL rocket systems and an ISIL assembly area and suppressed a separate ISIL tactical unit.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group’s ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.